


Fish Are Friends, Not Food

by riseofthefallenone



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Matchmaker Sam, Pre-Relationship, Staggered Timeline
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-09
Updated: 2016-05-09
Packaged: 2018-06-07 09:56:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6799216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/riseofthefallenone/pseuds/riseofthefallenone
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As a favour to Sam, Dean goes on a date with one of his university friends. He barely knows Cas beyond the fact that he finds him attractive and he's Sam's friend. He <em>definitely</em> didn't know that Cas is basically a goddamn fish whisperer.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fish Are Friends, Not Food

**Author's Note:**

> Sometimes I get randomly inspired by dumb shit [[x](http://weloveshortvideos.tumblr.com/post/143380427365)]

Dean has been on a lot of dates in his time. And he does mean _a lot_. This is the first one where Sam has set it up for him, and that should have been the first clue that things were going to be a little _different_ from usual.

For one, his dates rarely start _in_  his own house. But his date is waiting downstairs and that’s cool, he guesses. It’s not like Cas hasn’t been here before. He doesn’t live far and flat out said that he’d prefer to walk here than have Dean drive over to pick him up. Whatever. It gave Dean an extra ten minutes of primping time.

Cas has been friends with Sam since - uh. Well, actually, Dean’s not sure. He just knows that Cas has been around since Sam entered university. The guy started coming over during group study sessions. Kinda quiet, pretty nerdy, and really hot. That’s about all Dean knows about him. Oh, that and he’s got a weird name and that’s why he more or less goes by _Cas_ all the time. Yeah, that’s pretty much it.

But all that aside, Dean honestly never in a million year  _ever_  expected to walk into his living room and find his date - to find _Castiel_  - with his sleeve rolled up and his whole arm, right to the elbow, submerged in the sixty gallon fish tank sitting against the wall.

It’s no surprise that _this_ is what happens when Dean lets _Sam_  pick his dates for him.

* * *

 

“Hey, Dean?”

He can barely hear Sam over the music, but he’s long attuned himself to picking out Sam’s voice over everything else. Dean pulls the headphones off and turns his head to look at him. “What’s up, Sammy?”

Somehow the mammoth is managing to make himself look small in the doorway, shifting nervously from side to side. “So, uh, you know how you like guys, right?”

He raises an eyebrow. “Yeah. Where’s this going, Sammy?”

Sam shoves a hand through his hair before blurting out what’s going through his head. “One of my friends from school wants to see what it’s like to date a guy.”

Dean sits up in bed. There are two things Sam could be getting at right now. Either _he_ wants to go out with the guy at school, or he’s asking _Dean_ to do it. Only one of those actually irks him. Dean doesn’t need his baby brother setting him up on dates. Especially not trail ones where he’s gonna be putting himself on the line. What if he ends up liking this friend and the friend decides, nah, he’s not gay or bi or whatever? Then it’s Dean getting hurt and he doesn’t play like that.

Instead of giving him the chance to say anything, Sam plows right on through with the next thing he’s gotta get off his chest. “It’s Cas. Y’know him, right?”

Yeah, Dean knows him. “The hot one with the runner’s legs?” He may or may not have eyed them up once or twice over the last few years. Never made a move because he’s Sam’s friend and all. Plus he knows, like, nothing about the guy beyond that.

Sam stares at him for a moment and Dean makes a _go on_ gesture to get him talking again. That gets him going again. “Cas isn’t sure if he could go out with a guy, so he wants to give it a shot but he doesn’t know any single gay guys to experiment with and-”

“And you want _me_ to go out with him.” Dean sighs, finishing the thought for him. He flops back on the bed, not in the mood for this.

“ _Please_ , Dean?” The puppy eyes are out in full effect. “Just one date? A kiss at the end? Who else is he going to turn to? Who else would be more trustworthy than you to not take advantage of him?” When Dean stays silent, Sam pulls out the big guns. “I’ll pay for the whole date.”

Damn him for appealing to Dean’s cheap side. _And_ for having hot friends. “Fine, but he better not be expecting this to be a _regular_ thing, okay? One date. _Maybe_ two.” And Dean damn well better not get attached, or he’s going to be mad.

Sam lights up like it’s the fourth of July. “Thanks, Dean!” And then he’s gone, scuttling down the hallway and slamming his bedroom door behind him. He’s probably off to deliver the good news to Cas. The lucky bastard _is_ getting a free date with _Dean Winchester_ , after all.

With a sigh, Dean puts his headphones back on and relaxes back into his pillows. Hopefully this will be better than he thinks it will be.

* * *

 

Dean stands in silence and watches as Cas swirls his fingers around in the water a bit. The tank only holds one fish: Dean’s prize blood parrot cichlid, Bill Murray. Bill was rescued from a breeder before their “business” went under. That fish has been with him for a couple years now and he has _never_ seen Bill do what he’s doing to Cas’s fingers. 

Cas has a stupid little smile on his face as he lets Bill swim between his fingers. The smile grows when he gets the chance to gently stroke his thumb along Bill’s side. He even crooks his fingers and _tickles_  the underside of Bill’s chin. It’s like Dean suddenly owns a dog instead of a fucking _fish_. 

“Dude.”

“Hello, Dean.” Cas looks up with that same smile still in place. “Are you ready to go?”

Yes, but that’s not the point. “What are you doing?”

“I’m petting Bill Murray.”

Dean looks between where Bill is still enjoying his massage and Cas’s smile. “I can see that. You know, he’s not a dog, right?”

“Of course he’s not.” Cas shrugs and looks back down. “He’s a fish.”

“And you’re _petting_ him.” How is Cas not grasping how _weird_ this is?

His smile actually grows when he looks up again. There’s practically a damn twinkle in his eye. “Yes, I am.” Cas tilts his head in a kind of _come here_  motion. “Would you like to try it?”

Is he serious? Are they _really_  going to start the date with fish petting? That’s - well, that’s definitely a new one. It’s one for the history books, actually. The kind of thing Dean would joke about with his buddies over beers during half-time. But - and this is a _big_ but - he kinda really wants to try it? Watching Cas pet _his_ fish is making Dean just a little bit jealous over not doing it himself. 

Without a word, he crosses the room while rolling up one of his sleeves. Dean stands facing Cas, though he’s staring at Bill Murray. The only time he’s ever put his hand in the tank was when he had to pull Bill out so he could clean the tank. It’s not like he’s _afraid_ or anything. This just feels really fucking _weird_. People don’t just go sticking their hands in fish tanks willy nilly. 

And yet, that’s just what he does. Cas pulls his arm out of the tank slowly and holds it above the water to let it drip. Dean wiggles his fingers experimentally, just like how he saw Cas do it. In no time at all, Bill Murray swims over and starts circling. He does, eventually, wiggle his way between Dean’s fingers. 

“Now scratch him under the chin.” Cas instructs, using the towel that Dean keeps hanging off the side of the tank stand for emergencies. “He really likes that.”

Bill’s fins flap like crazy when Dean does it. He does his best to do it gently Since Bill doesn’t swim away, it must feel good, right? Yeah, probably. Dean just needs to make sure not to brush his thumb the wrong way and fuck up Bill’s scales.

After a few minutes, he looks up at Cas. “This is the weirdest date I’ve ever been on.”

Cas’s smile is full of gums and teeth and it crinkles his nose in delight. It’s _really_ fucking cute. “And we haven’t even left your house yet.”

Speaking of, it’s about time they do that. They have a schedule to keep, after all. Dinner and a movie. The standard date format, if you overlook this whole fish petting thing. Oh, but there’s one more thing they need to do before they leave.

“Sorry, Bill. We gotta head out.” Dean gives him one more chin scratch before he pulls his arm out of the tank. 

Cas immediately holds out the towel for him and Dean dries off. “May I ask where we’re going for dinner?”

After a long look at Bill Murray, Dean looks up at Cas with a grin. “How do you feel about _sushi_?”

For a moment, horror flashes across Cas’s face. And then it melts into amusement the second he realizes that it’s a joke. After that, he turns solemn and puts a hand over his heart. “Fish are friends. Not food.”

Quoting _Finding Nemo_  at him? Alright, that’s a point in Cas’s favour. Dean laughs and ducks around Cas to go back deeper into the house. “C’mon, follow me.” 

“Where are we going?”

“To wash our hands. Bill shits in that water.”

*

They’re halfway to the restaurant, something occurs to Dean. He waits until they’re at a red light before glancing at Cas and interrupting their current conversation about predictions for future Marvel movie plots. “Dude, have you touched my fish before?”

Cas takes his eyes off the scenery of store fronts. “Every time that I’ve been to your home.”

There’s no point in trying to count that shit up. Sam has been in university for three years and Cas has been coming by for _at least_ that long. Dean doesn’t have anything to actually say to that. He just hums in acknowledgment and looks back at traffic.

“Is that upsetting to you?” 

It’s a soft question carrying a hint of worry and Dean snorts a laugh at it. “Nah, man. I was just surprised that I’ve never noticed you molesting my fish before.” 

He flashes a wide grin at Cas and gets one in return. But instead of making a jab back, Cas goes right back into their previous conversation. “If they don’t make an origin movie for Black Widow and Hawkeye, I’m going to be _very_ disappointed. More so than I was with the Hulk movies they consider to be part of the canon.”

Alright. Brownie points are quickly being won, even with the whole fish petting thing. The date has barely started and Dean is already kinda hoping that this _is_ going to be Cas’s thing. It’s _way_ too early to tell, but Dean’s got a little bit of budding hope that there’ll be a second date. He’ll wait to pass judgement until the end of the date, but so far? It’s looking good. 

Weird, but _good_.

* * *

 

Sam waits until he’s safely within the walls of his bedroom before he picks up his cell phone. After scrolling through his contacts, he picks Cas’s name and hits the call button. 

It picks up after the third ring. “Hello, Sam.”

“Hey, Cas. Got some news for you!” He keeps his voice in a whisper, just in case Dean didn’t put the headphones back on.

“Do tell.”

To the untrained ear, that might sound like indifference. But Sam has known Cas for years and he knows, without a doubt, that he is _excited_. There’s a way too subtle tilt to his voice that Sam picks up on and outright _grins_  at. 

“Dean fell for it!” It’s actually difficult to keep his voice quiet but still sound excited. Cas is _perfect_  for Dean. They’re both huge nerds and Cas is just like a more stoic Dean sometimes. Minus the over active libido and with a tad more religion. Either way, he _jumped_ at the chance when Cas confessed he’s been crushing on Dean and couldn’t figure out a way to tell him - especially since they haven’t exactly spent too much time together since they first met.

Now that’s surprise in Cas’s voice. “He did?”

“Yup! From here on out, it’s all up to you and your sparkling personality.” 

Cas laughs in his own little way. “Thank you, Sam. I appreciate all your help.”

Sam laughs and drops into his chair, kicking up his feet on the desk to relax after his job well done. “I don’t know what you see in him, but good luck, Cas. You’re gonna need it.”

**END**


End file.
